Dodge/Plymouth Neon

Comments

If you are still lingering around I have another recommendation. If you are looking for a lower monthly payment and don't drive long distances I strongly recommend leasing.

With how bad the economy is the car manufacturers are offering great lease rates. VW just started a "Any excuse will do sales event"....$999 down gets you in a Jetta GL for $199/mo, 42 months with 12k miles a year. The total of your payments is alittle under $10k which is not bad to get a brand new car and keep it for 3 1/2 years. VW's arent known for customer service or reliability (they are down there with Chrysler), but it would be covered under warranty throughout your lease.

I have a 1998 plymouth Neon w/ about 40,000 miles and the check engine light recently came on. The trouble code showed up as Incorrect purge flow in my evaporative emmissions system. This is my only newish car and I don't have a lot of experiance with emmissions and computer stuff. All of the hoses and such are clear so I was thinking it might be the charcoal filter? Any advice? By the way I hate my windows....

I really like the '03 Toyota Corolla, but am also considering the Dodge SX 2.0 for financial reasons. I think the SX is a nice looking car, but am leery about its troubled history of engine problems. From what I've read here, those problems have been corrected in the newer models. I am thinking about leasing, which I have never done before. If anyone has leased through Dodge or Toyota, I'd love to hear how it worked out.

I bought a SONY CD recorder and made some mixed CDs for the car. They skipped terribly. I tried SONY blank CD-Rs and they play fine. I tried Maxell and they play fine. Only the Memorex seem to have problems. Anyone else tried playing CD-Rs in the factory changer? Mine is a 2000.

About 4 weeks ago I went to my workplace parking space to drive my 1996 Plymouth Neon home. I was shocked to see a gray spot on the white roof. At closer inspection I noticed the the roof paint actually was peeling off in a (approx.) 2" square. Then I noticed a few other spots. Now the original spot is 3 times bigger and there are many more. This is a car that has been garaged every night for most of its' years, until 1-1/2 years ago. I was shocked because it happened so suddenly. Nothing was done to the car to make this happen as far as I can tell. Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a possibility that it would be covered by the manufacturer? The rest of the car is fine. Would appreciate some comments and suggestions.

It is a common problem with DaimlerChrysler cars of that age and older (and many Ford and GM cars as well).

Do a Google search for "Chrysler" and "peeling paint" and you'll turn up a wealth of information - apparently, many people have succeeded in getting their cars repainted, even cars several years old.

Do a little research before contacting DaimlerChrysler -- apparently the only solution is to strip the car to the bare metal and repaint everything, or the paint will peel again (the problem is not with the paint itself, it is with the primer system used).

Anyone have a chance to check one out since they came out? I rode in one the other day and it was a pretty sweet ride. But I couldn't help thinking that under that bright yellow paint, screaming turbo, and high spoiler sat an economy car.

The new Crossfire is pretty sweet as well. Got to drive one of those today. Although it's very small inside, it's a pretty nice ride.

a rental car resale lot here in North Texas advertised low mileage 2003 Neon sedans with automatic, air, power windows, power locks, and CD player, for $8450 each, had 10 in stock...

is a used 2003 worth that much?

I'm looking for a car for a friend whose 1995 Neon with 156K is falling apart (needs bodywork, AC work, and the ignition switch is messed up and makes the car a bear to start)...she likes her car and wanted a Stratus coupe but seeing as those are $21K new...not happening...

She of course like all optimistic first time car buyers (hers was bought for her in high school) thinks she can get a car for $200 a month and nothing down...as long as daddy co-signs...

So I told her a $4000 car would be a better choice as it would be paid off in two years and still be worth most of what was paid for it...

so my second question is, would a 2000 Neon for $4000-$4500 be worth the trouble of possible head gasket failures and transmission issues over the next 2 years and 50,000 miles (she drives a lot) and will it be worth anything at the end?

I'm guessing a 2000 Neon in 2 years will be worth what a 1998 is now? About $2500-$3000?

A new Neon can be had for under $10,000 right now, drive it off the lot and its worth maybe $7,500 for trade in, or even less. With dealer markup $8450 could be a fair price if the miles were low enough but if it has 20,000 miles or more I would think $7,500 would be a fairer price. The used car market is flooded with nice used cars and the market is depressed. It is a buyers market for a smart buyer. If you are inexperienced they will get into your pocketbook real fast. Insurance is another factor to consider. I considered a 2003 Neon for a commuter vehicle, insurance was higher every 6 months for it than the Ram 1500 I eventually decided on even though the Ram is worth twice what the Neon was. Use the TMV feature here on Edmunds to determine what used Neons are worth! I think you will find not much.

Having many friends who own older Neons with nothing but problems, I would definitely recommend she get the used 2003 and get a warranty on it.

Also, working for Chrysler financial and writing up finance contracts every day for all sorts of Chryslers, $200 doesn't happen unless the car is 3-4 years old. Don't go older than 2 years, the finance rates are higher on older cars because of the risk factor. I would personally go for the $8450 deal, that's a pretty good one. But also be warned that rental cars are most of the time beat on and run hard...

Neon resale values drop like a lead weight...I know because I owned a 2000 Neon and had to sell it to move overseas. Paid $14,000 and was offered $3,500 by the same dealer after 1 year and 14,000 miles. It was a manual transmission car, but still...I ended up selling it to a used car dealer for $5,500.

I like Neons a lot, but you should think "price" when you buy one. They're basically commodities.

All Dodge values are that way. There isn't a single Dodge/Plymouth/Jeep but the Pacifica and the Jeep Wrangler that's worth 50% after TWO years actually. The residuals on them are all in the 40s% on the Gold Key Leases (I work for DCX financial, per their books). That's sad. But it's what hefty rebates will do to a car.

We Neon owners seem to love our little problem cars. I know I like the style and interior, but could do without the problems I've had. I noticed some posts about head gaskets. I was one of the fortunate folk who found out that it was a known problem and told my local Chrysler dealer who fixed it and Chrysler paid for most of it. I had to pick up the flush and a couple of other things, but I saved hundreds of $$$ by asking. Since then I've replaced the engine but not at a Chrysler shop, just family mechanics. Now if I can just get the peeling paint fixed with help from Chrysler I would be overjoyed. I'm going to research it. Next year I'm giving the Neon to my college bound son and I'm not buying another Chrysler product, EVER!

I own a 1996 white Neon 4 cyl. I have a major oil leek at the top of the engine ( the egine block. I anyone familiar with this type of problem? Can any one provide me with blowout of the engine, especially the head gasket area.

i have a 1995 plymouth neon and the other day i arrived home at 5 so i didn't have my lights on but then a neighbor said she saw my lights on at 3 in the morning. when she told me this i thought it was weird because i had taken my dog on a walk that night about 10 and didn't notice my lights on. when i got in my car the next day the knob to pull to turn them on had been kicked out. when i went to turn my lights on they wouldn't turn on. the brights would only work if i pulled the lever to me but not if i pushed it back to keep them on. i think it is the headlight switch and i was wondering what you guys thought. also if anyone knows how to replace this if they could let me know that would be great.

I traded my 2000 on a 2003 SXT. I was at 62000 miles and thought I'd grab a new one while interest rates were low. I miss the 2000. It was a great car. No problems in three and a half years. Here's hoping the '03 is as good a car as the '00 was.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you get for the 00 model when trading it in? With all the factory incentives and special financing, I know trade in values suffer.

A co-worker of mine just got an 03 SXT in black with every option yesterday. She has 40 miles so far, and loves it to death. Of course, her last car was a 95 Elantra whose AC had broken years ago and it had 160K miles on it.

I almost got a Neon, but wanted more room, so I got a PT. Happy with my choice so far at 3750 miles.

I took a beating on the trade. The car had 62K on it and had every option except automatic. ABS, 4 wheel disks, CD changer, sunroof, remote locks, P/W, cruise, tilt, traction control, power mirrors, alum wheels. With the Dodge trade-in assistance I got $4700 for it. Not good. But, I drove out in a brand new one for the same payment I had on the old one. I love these cars. My 2000 was absolutely bullet-proof reliable. Here's hoping the 2003 will be more of the same. I don't like the new grill but it's growing on me. I hope I don't regret the Solar Yellow in six months.

I was looking for a good deal on the factory CD changer for my new Neon and came across this company on the web. They beat the next best deal I could find by over $50 and over-nighted it to me free. Just in case anyone else is interested in adding a changer I would recommend trying them.

The new one is pretty well loaded. All I gave up were the 4 wheel disks, traction control and CD changer. I already have my new Mopar CD changer and will probably install it this afternoon. It's another five speed/sunroof car. I do miss the net pockets that were on the backs of the seats in the 2000. That's where I kept my map books. Oh well.

My co-worker's car was loaded with every option including automatic, sunroof, 6-CD changer, and ABS. Too bad they took traction control off the options list for either 02 or 03, it was a valuable option IMO. I haven't rode in my friend's 03 yet, but my ex-roommate used to have a 2000 automatic ES that was a total nightmare in the reliability department.

I have had my 03 SXT since Nov.02. I had a 96 and a 2000 also. No problems with any of them but I think the most miles was 47k. I traded my 2000 ES in Mar.02 on a Lesabre and got 7,500 for it.It was pretty sharp, cranberry ,dark tint and PT Cruiser chrome wheels. Wished I had bought the Buick out right and kept the Neon,missed having it to drive to work, my Dakota takes too much gas so I bought the 03.The 03 has an automatic 4speed where the 2k was an automatic 3 spd, I get better mpg and there isnt as much engine noise on the highway. They are fun driving,comfortable cars.The insurance is only $2. less per month than my LeSabre Limited.I guess that has to do with number of accidents and age groups that buy them.

I wonder if insurance on Neons varies a lot by geography. I thought it was pretty cheap in New York City by NYC standards...about $1200 a year 2 years ago. Some people from the midwest have posted here in TownHall that the reputation of Neons is "young male idiot with pizza sign on the roof." lol...so JoelC I can see why you made your comment about the young drivers. On the East Coast, it's not really such a young car. Young people want to be seen in imports, more or less, around here.

I bought this car specifically for its economy fuel rating 29MPG city/36MPG HWY. I know that there will be some variance, but I am barely getting 19MPG in City/HWY combo driving. I passed over buying other vehicles because the fuel economy weighed so heavy in my buying decision, plus I saw people raving about the great gas mileage here on Edmunds.

This car is under 10,000 miles and automatic. It has a 12.5 gallon tank and I am getting about 225 miles from full to empty on my tach. It drinks a quarter of a tank a day.

Anyone else run into this? If so, were you able to have the issue resolved by a Dodge Service Center?Any other help appreciated!

The autos I saw on the lot were rated at 32mpg hwy. The five speeds were rated at 36. I have actually gotten 36 out of a five speed on a long trip so I know it's doable. On my 2000 five speed I would sometimes see as low as 21.5-22mpg if there was too much city driving. Especially if my wife did the driving. She likes the feel of control of her speed using the engine so she stays in a lower gear than, in my opinion, she should be in. So, 19 isn't out of the question if it's straight city and you have a lot of stop and go or a heavy foot. It does seem to me that if it's truly combined driving it should be better than that. The mileage started to fall off in my 2000 at about 50k. I put new plugs in it and it was good as new. Perhaps your plugs were gapped incorrectly from the factory. Try a new set of plugs. Should only cost you six or eight bucks. Make sure they're gapped correctly and see what happens.